Reviews (2)

A "How To" Guide
Fetterman explains in sequential fashion how to do an ethnographic study. He describes ethnography as "the art and science of describing a group or culture" (p. 11) The first step in the process is for the researcher to enter the field of study with an open mind. In attempting to describe a setting, there is no one acceptable standard. Multiple interpretations of reality exist. A study is one person's view of a given group, at a particular time. Although this limitation is a given, an ethnographer should seek to be holistic in presenting a study's findings (p. 21). An ethnographic study would include both structure and function. Structure is the social structure or configuration of the group. Function is the social relations among group members. Like systems theory, relationships are significant components of an ethnographic study. Symobolic communication is significant in revealing what is important to the people being studied. As an observer, a researcher using this approach is a human instrument. There are some biases, but the more experience one develops, the better one can develop his or her skills of observation. Fetterman goes on to talk about the difference between writing good field notes and writing the final report. In all the book clearly shows how to go about the process of doing an ethnographic study.

A lifetime resource as well as a great introduction
I'm surprised I've studied Anthropology this long without this book. It is simple, linear and effective. David Fetterman takes the beginner through all the necessary thought processes and equipment required to do research. More importantly, he includes a whole section of resource material in one book. Everything from Web sites with research data to List Serves that have anthropological material to associations, their phone numbers, email addresses and Web sites. He includes a detailed listing of software and freeware that can help a reseacher, complete with a brief explanation of the use and value.Read more

Subjects:  1. Anthropology - Cultural    2. Ethnology    3. General    4. Medical / Nursing    5. Methodology    6. Research    7. Social Science    8. Sociology    9. Anthropology    10. Ethnic studies    11. Social Science / Research    12. Social research & statistics   

Reviews (69)

The title is very misleading
This book was a huge disappointment.I checked it out of the library (thank goodness I didn't spend money on it) thinking I would learn about one woman's struggle to spend less and live more simply.Honestly, I learned all I needed to know about Judith's year-long "journey" from her 5 minute interview on Oprah. It starts off ok, but quickly descends into a rant against Republicans, the Iraq War and George W.Not that I'm a fan of George W and Co., but her views were quite boring and I found myself barely able to finish. I really felt as though I had suffered a "bait and switch", which use to be a favorite tactic of retailers.I guess Ms. Levine learned something from them during all those years of shopping.

Don't Waste your Time or Money
The author had a good idea but executed it poorly.This book was more about politics than abstaining from purchasing.
Not buying this book
The author had a BRILLIANT idea writing this book, however she couldn't accomplish and develop a chain of reasoning. She is PROLIX and way too boring. The reading has to be dragged.
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Subjects:  1. Biography / Autobiography    2. Consumer Behavior    3. Consumer Behavior - General    4. Consumer education    5. Personal Memoirs    6. Shopping    7. Social Movements    8. Social Science    9. Sociology    10. Sociology - General    11. Women    12. Consumer issues    13. Social & cultural anthropology    14. Social Science / Sociology / General   

Reviews (3)

Book review
Captain America and the Crusade against Evil: The Dilemma of Zealous Nationalism; Book Review
Interesting
These two author's earlier work "The Myth of the American Superhero" explored the presentation of Justice as needing a redeemer figure replete with an arsenal of `righteous' weaponary and how this image has affected the US idea of politics. This earlier book represents the `secular' aspects. In "Captain America and the Crusade against Evil" Jewett and Lawrence show how this mindset coupled with the US's puritan backdrop has made this monomyth into a national obsession bearing all the hallmarks of Civil Religion (Civil that is unless you disagree with it)!
Interesting thesis
The idea of this book is that comic book superheros are an ideal character in how America solves its foreign policy crisis.The authors want to show that America feels that it has a do it alone mentality to save the world much like comic books.Read more

Subjects:  1. 2001-    2. 20th century    3. Anthropology - Cultural    4. Archaeology / Anthropology    5. Folklore & Mythology    6. Foreign relations    7. Jihad    8. Messianism, Political    9. Millennialism    10. Politics and government    11. Public Policy - Cultural Policy    12. Social Science    13. Sociology    14. Sociology of Religion    15. United States    16. POLITICS & GOVERNMENT    17. Religion & Beliefs    18. USA   

Reviews (44)

Degrees of separation.
Desmond Morris has created an extremely provocative and challenging book that forces one to question "humanity's" everyday and all-time reactions and motivations. It challenges one to analyse and understand whether we are as intelligent as we think.This book is as valid today as it was when it was written 40 years ago.Our arrogance in seeing ourselves as being intelligent beings is exposed or at least called into question.The Naked Ape, used well, forces one to continually re-assess and measure society's and one's own behaviour.

Very Good
Based on the cover illustration and the subtitle, you'd think that The Naked Ape is another book about human evolution. This is far from the truth. The Naked Ape is about man's current condition. It views people as just another animal.
Naked As In Stripped Of Our Illusions Of Self
If human beings ever make contact with an intelligent species from beyond planet earth, then the observations those "people" might make about us would probably read quite a bit like the ones evolutionary zoologist Morris makes in this humorous but deadly serious study of the human animal. The very things we have come to see as mundane about ourselves are the very traits Morrison zeroes in on here. Very little escapes this careful study, although in some cases humanity might collectively wish it had. In this book the human species is anatomically, psychologically, sociologically and biologically cataloged and classified. We read a dispassionate critique of our mating habits, the ways in which we raise our young, our preferences for foods, for where we live, for how we interact with one another, and what bodily features are universally desired over others. In the end I was left both amazed and embarrassed to be among the membership in this great and crazed life form. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Animal nature    2. Anthropology - General    3. Archaeology / Anthropology    4. Behavior    5. Human behavior    6. Human beings    7. Life Sciences - Biology - General    8. Mammals    9. Primates    10. Science    11. Sociology    12. Science / Biology   

Subjects:  1. Biography    2. Encyclopedias    3. Ethnic Studies - Hispanic American Studies    4. Hispanic American women    5. Reference    6. Sociology    7. Women's Studies - History    8. American studies    9. Latin America    10. Social & cultural anthropology    11. USA   

Reviews (2)

dumping the baby with the bath water
Mahmood has a pleasant, easy-going style, which makes for good reading.She makes every effort in her ethnographic work to put herself into the place of the women of the mosque movement.She seems to look at the situation from the presupposition that people are purely products of their circumstances, which precludes much in the way of personal choice.I prefer to believe we do have choice.While I respect the choice these women have made, I think it would be a mistatke to assume that there's no coersion or oppression in their lives.That is, it's fine to accept the choices people make, but oppression is still oppression.Yes, let's see things as much as we are able from the subject's point of view, but lets not pretend oppression and subjugation aren't still oppression and sujugation.

A Radically New Way of Thinking About Feminist Issues in the Arab World
Radical feminists, of the post-structuralist or deconstructionist blend, have accustomed us to put into question notions that have long been a constitutive part of the liberal/progressive agenda and to critically reexamine well-established categories such as gender, class or race. It should therefore come as no surprise if Saba Mahmood, an anthropologist trained in the intellectual hotbed of UC Berkeley, provides a description of the Muslim world that goes against the grain of conventional wisdom and shatters many certainties held dear by feminists and liberals alike.
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Subjects:  1. Anthropology - Cultural    2. Cairo    3. Case studies    4. Egypt    5. Feminism    6. Islamic Studies    7. Islamic countries    8. Islamic renewal    9. Muslim women    10. Religious life    11. Social Science    12. Sociology    13. Women's Studies - General    14. Anthropology    15. Gender Studies    16. Middle Eastern Studies    17. Religion    18. Social Science / Islamic Studies    19. Women's studies   

Reviews (10)

Excellent
After having just visited Africa, I wanted to get a better feel for what it's really like to be Maasai. This book is very real, and gives interesting insights from the "inside". I enjoyed it thoroughly.

Bridging two worlds.
There couldn't be two more different places than New York City and the lands of the Maasai in Tanzania.Tepilit Ole Saitoti's story of his journey in and between these two worlds is fascinating.I am looking forward to the update he is writing now that he is a Maasai Elder.This insight into another land and culture is a gift.

The Worlds of a Maasai Warrior: An Autobiography
Excellent book, very accurate and really worth the money. It gives the picture of a boy growing up as a real Maasai and the new life in civilized world of Germany and USA - a man between two cultures and the difficult question to decide which way to go along. Makes yourself wondering about the way we Western people are living and gives a chance to see our world with other eyers. Read more

Subjects:  1. Biography    2. General    3. Masai (African people)    4. Saitoti, Tepilit Ole, 1949-    5. Sociology    6. African history    7. Kenya    8. Social Science / Anthropology / General   

Reviews (8)

Complicates The National In The Origins Of Capitalism, Needs To Confront The Individual
Was capitalism a cultural project? Were the structural changes that created modern nations (rooted in capital) accompanied by significant and corollary changes in values, faith, religion, kinship, individualism, art, and other cultural phenomena? From the vantage point of twenty-first century cultural studies, the answer is an obvious "yes." It is not clear that Eric Wolf shares this vantage point in his field and in his period. For the most part, this work centers physical geographic connection, inclusion, and exclusion - - local and macrocosmic - - as the greatest influence on human behavior. For example: the peasant, newly excluded from the enclosed commons, turns to wage labor due to a lack of survival alternatives. Perhaps the peasant's motive for this change is not the most important question of history, but rather the change that history inscribes upon the peasant's cultural constitution. In other words, is the peasant merely a rational economic actor to be inserted in an equation of geopolitical determinism, or are they compelled at this broad historical juncture to do something newly irrational, counter-instinctual, and alien to the preparation of their human constitution? The problem is that Wolf's cool and rational engagement with the spaces, places, motions, and control of objects still subscribes to a fairly static reification of the individual. This individual must be unmoving in spiritual and cultural practice, trauma, affection, embrace and rejection, or at least conceived of as stable and reasonable outside of this variability, in order for Wolf's historical narrative to be a complete explanation. Of course, no author claims a complete explanation so the question becomes whether or not this is a viable one.
A Chapter at a Time
This is a looong read but it is well worth it in the end. I found that taking this book chapter by chapter was the best way to read, because sometimes you find yourself reading the chapter's twice. Wolf offers an insighful and opinionated view of European and Imperial history. I would advise anyone who is interested in history and modern political relations, its a great overview of well....everything that happened in European history involving trade, imperialism, and colonial relations.

An interconnected history
Wolf breaks the paradigm that the world ever was full of isolated pockets of civilized people void of contact with others. By tracing routes of fur trade, slave trade, early movements of people, materials and ideas, Wolf examines the world before Europe "civilized" the world. He is able to show how contact with European traders change the lifestyles of groups of people who already had fully developed cultural, linguistic and political traditions. How trade, bureaucracy, military force and violence influenced the people with whom the traders contacted illustrates the fact that "globalization" is hardly a recent phenomenon. Read more

Subjects:  1. 1492-    2. Anthropology - General    3. Archaeology / Anthropology    4. Economic conditions    5. Europe    6. Europe - General    7. History    8. Politics/International Relations    9. Social change    10. Social conditions    11. Anthropology    12. Cultural studies    13. Social Science / Anthropology / General   

Reviews (15)

Concise and entertaining
I was thoroughly engrossed in with the information in this book. But I think the title is too broad because the topics were mostly on Christianity, Judaism and Islam and the other world religions were barely touched. Mr. Panati did warn that he is Catholic and is coming from that perspective.Being a Catholic myself, I think this is an excellent sourcebook for Catholics but be warned that some of Mr. Panati's explanations may make you doubt what you learned in catechism. What I did come away with is a better understanding of the connections between the three major world religions and how they are related to one another.

Another one to add to the collection
I've always enjoyed Charles Panati books and this one is no exception.

A Very Interesting Book
Not only did I read this book to satisfy my thirst for trivia, but also, to be enlightened on the more strange and mysterious rituals and practices of different religions. Although the cover says '..of the World's Religions', I personally think that this book focuses more on Christianity. But still, this book is very, very interesting -for me- because the author describes in colorful detail every information he has about a subject.
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Subjects:  1. Cultural And Social Anthropology    2. Religion    3. Religion - World Religions    4. Religions    5. Rites and ceremonies    6. Social Science    7. Sociology Of Religion    8. Religion / Comparative Religion   

Reviews (1)

Better than a textbook
Have you ever wondered how pieces of long lost civilizations find a home in museums?Perhaps a dashing hero discovered them while escaping enemies?No.Real archaeologists spend countless hours researching information on a particular subject and only then does on-site excavation begin.Read more

Subjects:  1. Anthropology - Physical    2. Archaeology    3. Archaeology (General)    4. Archaeology / Anthropology    5. Physical Anthropology    6. Social Science    7. Sociology    8. Social Science / Anthropology / General   

Reviews (4)

Read between the lines
I have read this book cover to cover and am rather disappointed with some of the sections. The authors matter of factly discuss widow burning in India as a cultural practice. They offer no cross cultural comparisons to this. In France and the USA we call it murder. On the other hand the behavior of needy children is described as 'bonding' with their mothers in China,and 'clingy in the USA. Here a cross comparison is provided. Another cross cultural comparison: 'genital mutilation' of young girls (clearly for other reasons than for boys) is called 'circumcision' in some cultures. Gusii mothers in Kenya hold their babies longer than women in Boston. Why?Because of infant mortality. Here a cross-cultural reason is provided. But no explanations for widow burning, female genital mutilation, and child marriages are given, where the maternal mortality rate is three times greater than women in the 20-24 year age group. (UN report 1991). In fact the authors add that there are schools for clitorectemies which girls between 8 and 12 "attend". Young girls of 10 are married in some cultures. In France and the USA that is called child molestation, but the authors don't write that. Chinese foot binding of women is described as a previous "sign of beauty", matter of factly, They clearly don't want to take a stance about these practices. That is because they tacitly uphold the political position that the nuclear family is above the law, and any practices that take place are legitimate. This is why they primarily cover general topics regarding the nuclear family, cross culturally speaking. We are not supposed to question this, because that would , according to the authors, involve a cultural perspective inconsistent with another. The UN however has many case studies to contradict that, even if the rights of women and children are not legitimated in comprehesive policy. But at least the UN convention CEDAW- Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women knows there is a gender hierarchy in the world, which the authors don't, or at least don't mention in a relatively meaningful way.
Stands alone as the cross-cultural developmental text book
I just got this book from the publisher and have decided to use it for my cross-cultural development class.No other book that I have found does an even remotely adequate job of combining cross-cultural research and humandevelopment.Teaching this class should be a lot easier.

easy to understand with many interesting stories
I have read that book and I found many interesting stories about how culture affect our live which I've never imagine it before and I learn a lot about many different unique cultures around the world and if you wantto know more detail about culture differences and compare them, you shouldread this book. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Anthropology - Cultural    2. Cognition and culture    3. Cross-Cultural Psychology    4. Cross-cultural studies    5. Developmental - General    6. Ethnic Issues    7. Ethnic Studies - General    8. Ethnopsychology    9. Personality and culture    10. Social Psychology    11. Social Science    12. Socialization    13. Sociology    14. Sociology - General    15. Ethnography    16. Social Science / Sociology / General   

Editorial Review

In his fourth book, Read more

Reviews (60)

Mainly Preaching to the Choir
A fan of Neil Postman's critiques of pop culture, I was hoping for Johnson to make a more convincing case that video games and television are building critical thinking skills.The chapters on television will try the patience of anybody who has already dismissed that medium as a frivolous time waster.Johnson builds his argument through lengthy references to current prime time shows, the plots of which he asserts would stupefy earlier generations of viewers.So what?Maybe the content is more sophisticated now, but it's still TV.His discussion of video gaming's connection to critical thinking is a bit more convincing, but not by much.At least he never suggests that people should stop reading.After all, that's the medium he chose to reach his audience.

dissapointing
I was a little bit disappointed with this book.
No scientific evidence that TV is making us smarter
Steven Johnson claims that TV is making us smarter.(Explicitly in his New York Times article and implicitly in his book.)
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Subjects:  1. Anthropology - Cultural    2. General    3. Pop Arts / Pop Culture    4. Popular Culture    5. Popular Culture - General    6. Psychology (General)    7. Social Science    8. Sociology    9. Social Science / Media Studies   

Reviews (1)

College Textbook
While the text offers important thought provoking articles and essays on Race Gender and Social Issues, it is not Student friendly text. A text with such a wide array of information should offer a section of review at the end of each reading. By having a review "for students", it ensures an understanding of concepts and objectives. Furthermore, it offers students a place to review when studying for exams. I give the text a 5 star rating for the informative articles and essays but 1 star for none existing review material. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. 1980-    2. Anthropology - Cultural    3. Archaeology / Anthropology    4. Ethnic Studies - General    5. Gender Studies    6. Government - National    7. Pluralism (Social sciences)    8. Social Science    9. Social conditions    10. Sociology    11. Sociology - General    12. United States    13. Social Science / Sociology / General    14. Sociology, Social Studies   

Reviews (2)

A Remarkable Insight Into An Unseen World
This is possibly the most interesting book I have read in several years. Considering that the book, strictly speaking, is an academic study, this makes it all the more remarkable that Michael Dutton has created a highly readable account of a shadowy world within a world: China's "floating population". Weaving his own insights into carefully selected excerpts of translations of Chinese scholars, government documents, and personal interviews, Dutton creates a vision of China virtually ignored by the Western media. China As Left Undefined By Most Academics
If you were in China and studied American history, you would never learn about slackers, pop music or be able to quote the movie the Princess Bride. Were you to then come to America, you would find yourself in an area whose history and political structure you understood, but in a society beyond what you had read and filled with people who can quote beer commercials you've never seen. Read more

Subjects:  1. 1976-    2. 1976-2000    3. Anthropology - Cultural    4. Asia - China    5. China    6. Ethnic Studies - General    7. History    8. Social conditions    9. Social life and customs    10. Sociology    11. China--Social life and customs--1976-    12. Social & cultural anthropology    13. Social Science / Anthropology / Cultural   

Editorial Review

"Literacy has promoted the subjugation of women by men throughout all but the very recent history of the West," writes Leonard Shlain. "Misogyny and patriarchy rise and fall with the fortunes of the alphabetic written word."Read more

Reviews (144)

An interesting and frustrating book
I am all over the map in rating this book.In the end, I am unconvinced, and I think it has a lot of errors and inconsistencies, but it asks interesting questions that are worth examining whether or not the author's thesis is correct.There are parts that deserve five stars and parts that deserve one.
Mind-blowing, a new tint for your filter
Science always begins with a hypothesis.What Leonard Shlain has done here is present a mind-blowing hypothesis, melding the best of recent anthropological discoveries with the best in cognitive research.While in places he stretches to argue his point, for the most part his hypothesis is brilliant and incredibly well-supported.I feel he is unfairly criticized by people who are expecting "fact" to be derived from this, when in fact much of the time period explored is unrecorded history--a time during which we will never know "exactly" what happened. (Never mind the manipulations of recorded history that have followed!)Their very criticisms point to their overdependence on their left brain to evaluate this information in a manner that is literal and unimaginative.
Eye Opener
I read Shlain's book in 1998, a few years before 9/11.If you've read Steven Covey's Seven Habits - you will appreciate this book.If you recall the habit- seek to understand then to be understood.This books gives you a framework to help you understand people and their politics.
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Subjects:  1. Anthropology - General    2. Archaeology / Anthropology    3. Feminism & Feminist Theory    4. Literacy    5. Social Science    6. Sociology    7. Women's Studies - General    8. Social Science / Women's Studies    9. Reading Group Guide   

Reviews (2)

Good book
This was a good book. It sparked my interest in Anthropology and I learned so much from it. The author may be bias in some areas but that contributes to the learning experience. It helped me learn about other countries beliefs and customs.

Irritated
I am an Anthropology major and was required to take a Cultural Anthropology class for my major.Another Anthropology major took this class with me.By the end of the semester, we were contemplating buring our books because they were completely worthless.This book has a lot of bias to male studies, and male supremecy in general.If you need to know definitions, this is a book for you.There are literally hundreds of definitions in this book, and while many are defined correctly, some are not and show off the biasedness of this book.Overall it was ok, and it made me more aware of different beliefs in Anthropology, but I would not recommend this book to be used as a classroom text in the future. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Anthropology - Cultural    2. Anthropology - General    3. Archaeology / Anthropology    4. Social Science    5. Sociology    6. Social & cultural anthropology    7. Social Science / Anthropology / General